Approaching Graduation and Celebrating Growth for All Students!

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Approaching Graduation and Celebrating Growth for All Students!

Earlier this week I had the great joy of visiting the new Gold Frogger Airlines (parent company K Frogs) at the West Barn Early Childhood building. One K Frogs student was manning the phone at the reservation desk; another seemed to be collecting luggage (real, vintage American Tourister upright suitcases); and yet another two Frogs were warming up the jet for take-off. The students had invented and constructed the entire thing.

Last week I’d been watching some of them starting the ‘EC tarmac’ with large pieces of corrugated cardboard framing the jet, with only occasional check-ins from a teacher. And now I was seeing them animating their creations, again free of interference from tall people. Seeing children’s imaginations in action is as about as entertaining and rewarding as anything one can, well, imagine.

Wednesday I had the pleasure of stopping by the first grade classrooms. They had been preparing for their dramatic productions, which were put on under the expert direction of Roberta Cullen, on the big stage in The Logan Loft. After the performances, they shared looms and weavings they had created, and books they had written and illustrated. The great thing about the first graders’ books is that they’re handcrafted and self-illustrated and developmentally at whatever levels of literacy the children happen to be at, and they’re made to feel great about their creations, because 1) they are awesome and lovely (and sometimes hilarious) to look at and read; and 2) they are so authentic and the kids are so proud of their work.

One of the greatest gifts of Burgundy is sustaining the love of learning that children are born with — a love of learning that too often is tamped down or extinguished by weighty structures and adult expectations. Burgundy preserves the wonder and the adventure of learning. Credit the teachers in our JK, Kindergarten, and first grade who work so hard: to establish the community that supports children being respected and connected and feeling good about themselves and free and available for learning, and to ensure that learning remains a thrilling and enticing enterprise!

Checking in Gold Frogger Airlines passengers. Photos by Jeff Sindler.

Taking reservations

Fueling the jet

Burgundy is a one-of-a-kind independent school for students age 4 through grade 8. We believe children learn best in an inclusive, creative, and nurturing environment that engages the whole child.